Darkness, My Old Friend
by The Story's Shadow
Summary: The two teams come into contact because of a shocking event that brings back friends but mostly foes from the SVU's past as well and perhaps one or two from the PPTH's past. But soon certain members are set at each others' throats. A specific patient draws the ire of certain members with certain new perspectives to them for different reasons. And with all this, death approaches.
1. Prologue

**Darkness, My Old Friend**

_**(Hey guys, this story was originally supposed to be just a House M.D. story, but after seeing some scenes and a few particular episodes of Law & Order: SVU there was something I felt there was a story I could write. Though I'm in a damn writer's block for months now, but I'm hoping to do this story for a little bit perhaps solely to see if I can slowly get out of it by focusing on just a single story of my independent creations. I'm still working with Noble Six on some of his stories when I can/when he asks, but with my own it's more difficult for me to write. So, while I hope this helps with my writer's block, I hope this ends up being a good story.)**_

**Prologue**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, New Jersey)_

_Teams of nurses rush in near a half a dozen people into the hospital. Doctors follow around them shouting orders whilst running beside the teams. Civilians whisper about the event and some try asking the ambulance drivers that had brought the people. They saw police cars approaching in the distance, the lights flashing, and they could hear the noise of the sirens._

_(House's meeting room, a few minutes later)_

_House limbs into the meeting room. Cuddy, Thirteen, Wilson, Foreman, Taub, and Chase sit or stand around the room. None of them are saying a word and don't turn their heads when House walks in._

"Is it opposite day? Quit stealing my shtick. What the hell's going on?" House said.

"We've got around a half a dozen or so patients just came in and –" Foreman started to say.

"Let be clearer: what the hell's going on of what I don't know already," House snarked.

_The group rolled their eyes in irritation._

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is me being snarky not helping the situation?" House asked, bland sarcasm filling every word.

"House," Wilson grunted.

_House groaned whilst he threw back his head. He sighed as he took a seat and crossed his legs then place the cane across the arms of the chair. The group didn't say anything. House motioned for them with his hands to continue._

"All the patients except one are female. They've got some injuries, some lacerations, one with some trauma. But with some treatments and rest, they should be fine," Chase continued.

"So, what's the problem?" House asked.

"The last patient, he…well…uh…" Foreman struggled to say.

"Well not just him, it's the other patients as well," Thirteen added.

"What?!" House hissed.

_Cuddy bit her lip and motioned her head towards the door. The team started walking through the halls, House at the head._

"We have checked him over yet, but from just a glance we saw he's in worse condition," Thirteen informed.

"'Just a glance', seriously? Are we playing I Spy?" House scoffed, turning his head to her then back forward.

"House!" Cuddy hissed.

"It's not just what I saw about him, it's about the lines in the sand," Thirteen added.

"I do the metaphors around here. But you've already stated. What are the details behind this incident?" House asked.

"That's what you're about to find out," Thirteen answered as they all walked into the patient's room.

_House saw a young man with his face has blood on different parts of his face and the upper part of his gown near his neck and above his chest. But what truly drew his attention was that his wrists are cuffed to the arms of the bed._

"Who are you?" A new voice asked.

_House turned from the patient. He saw a group of people he's never seen before: a middle age brunette woman, a slightly younger blonde, a middle age black or mixed man, and a middle age man with some gray hairs._

"Oh, I'm the Gingerbread Man. Wanna try and chase me. I gotta warn you, I'm faster than I look," House answered.

"Oh, he's clever. Isn't that nice?" the brunette scoffed.

"Ooh, nice. Did you go to school for cracking jokes?" House asked.

"Alright, smart guy enough. We're the SVU unit from New York City. I'm Sergeant Fin. These are Detective Amanda Rollins, Detective Carisi, and the lady you just got into a snark contest with is Lieutenant Benson," Fin said as he took a step between them with his hands up to calm them.

"Please excuse him, he hasn't had his rabies shots in a few days. I'm Dr. Wilson, these are the respective doctors Cuddy, Hadley, Foreman, Taub, and Chase. This charming fellow is Dr. House," Wilson introduced as he took a step forward.

_Fin and Wilson shook hands then ended it. _

"So now that we've all kissed and made up, someone tell what the hell's going on!" House scoffed.

"If you don't show some courtesy will put some cuffs on you," Rollins said.

"Wouldn't that make it hard for me to walk?" House scoffed as he emphasized his cane.

"Ok, please. We're not here to argue," Carisi stated.

_House started to open his mouth._

"House, shut up. Please, we need to know what's going on," Cuddy said.

"*Sighs* It's a long story…but this is another moment in a long battle with…certain people," Carisi sighed.

"Oh, the Hardy Boys? The Jolly Green Giant? Jack the Ripper?" House said.

"More like the last," Benson answered.

"If that's so, who's tall, dark, and bloody right there?" House asked as he nodded to the patient.

"He's going to jail once this is all done," Rollins answered.

"Did he attack the other patients?" Foreman asked.

"No, he got in the way of those who were doing that," Fin answered.

"Then why is he in cuffs?" Chase asked.

"Because he got involved in an investigation and…*sighs*…a manhunt that has just recently started," Benson answered.

"Oh, did he say: 'Oh! Bad guys!'" House said.

"Enough, we've got jobs to do. Let's just do them," Carisi said.

"Right, because being involved in some major crisis is a good way for medical professionals to really do their jobs," House said.

"House," Thirteen said.

"What?" House hissed.

_He turned and saw Thirteen and the other doctors looking at the patient. He turned to look at the patient who is bleeding from his mouth as well and is seizing._

"What hell?" Fin said.

"Hmm, interesting," House said.

_The others looked at him with varying expressions than back at the patient._

**To be continued…**

_**(I don't regularly watch either show, just House a little more. The story came to me after watching an episode of House, but after watching a few more episodes and some scenes and episodes of Law & Order: SVU some things got changed in the story. I hope this'll be an interesting & meaningful story.)**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**(Seeing if I can get out of this writer's block step by step and also see if I can make this a good story in this wreck I'm having.)**_

**Chapter 1: First Answers**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, the next day)_

_The young man's eyes slowly started to open. The pain then hit him. He winced in pain and let out a groaning growl but didn't clench his teeth. He opened his eyes which landed on the cuffs. He sighed and laid his head back. He then looked at his arm, seeing a needle injected in it with a tube running from it to a machine. He could feel the needle in his arms._

"*Sighs* I hate needles," the young man said.

"That's the least of your worries," a voice said.

_The young man looked in front of him. _

"You're in a lot of trouble," Detective Benson said.

_She stood with the rest of her team._

"How's your manhunt going?" The young man asked.

"That's police business, which is none of your concern." Detective Benson said.

"Why?" The young man asked.

"Because you're not a cop or a part of any law enforcement," Detective Rollins replied.

_The young man didn't reply, he just stared at her with a stoic face. Carisi took a step forward._

"Look, I get why you do what you did. It was made with good intentions, but it cost our plan not to capture our targets," Carisi said.

_The young man's gaze turned to him but remained silent. Fin walked to the side of the bed._

"Look kid, ever since we've heard the news, we've been planning to capture these guys when we discovered all the details of why, who, how, where, and when. We didn't know they were there, but it was decided we had to take the chance," Fin said.

_The young man looked at him than seemingly stared back into space._

"Hey, we're talking here," Detective Rollins said.

_The young man scratched his stubble facial hair. He stared back at her, his brown eyes not leaving her. He then scratched his shaggy head of brown hair._

"So, William Ralph, born and lived in Kentucky for all your life, 21 years old. On a trip with one of your school organizations. And an idiot," Detective Rollins said.

_William remained silent, just still stared at her._

"Look, whatever you thought you were doing it was still illegal," Detective Benson said.

_William remained silent. There was then a knocking at the door to the room. It opened with House walking in with a walkie talkie._

"Yeah, operator we've got a Charlie 130, over. I gotcha, Roger that, over," House said to the walkie talkie.

"We told you we needed time to question him after he stopped his episode," Benson said.

"Yeah, well we got some test results back. My idiot employees are at a bit of a stopping point from what we've seen. During your vomiting period in the middle of your seizure, which presented a chemical imbalance. Much to some of my employees' idiocy, an MRI is being considered. We don't have the results of your blood test back yet as your seizure made things difficult. I think Dr. Foreman got a bit of surprise," House explained.

"If he doesn't come in here, tell him I'm sorry about that," William said.

"Oh, we all come into patients' rooms, it's like a game of musical chairs," House replied.

_William chuckled._

"Oh, I usually don't get that respond. Do I get a prize?" House replied.

"Do you ever shut up?" Detective Rollins scoffed.

"Ooh, depends, does it involve a gag and cuffs?" House asked.

"Oh, you know what –" Rollins started to say as she took a few steps forward.

"Alright, enough!" Fin said as he got in her path.

_He looked at Rollins first._

"Go check on the other patients, we need to see how they're doing," Fin said.

_Rollins grimaced, but nodded. Fin nodded back to her. He then turned to House._

"And you shut up before I stick that cane down your throat," Fin said.

"Oh, yes sir!" House said as he mockingly saluted the man.

_Fin clenched his teeth slightly._

"House!" A voice hissed.

_Everyone turned to see Cuddy in the doorway with Rollins just a few steps in front of her. Her arms are crossed with an annoyed look on her face._

"Oh, it's the principal," House said.

"I didn't come here to stop your little temper tantrum, though I usually have to, I came here to let the detectives know about the other patients. They're awake, they're fine just a little banged up. We're treating their wounds," Cuddy said.

"Thank God," Carisi said.

"Oh, sure, thank some fantastical beings instead of concrete medicine," House scoffed.

"We're not here for a metaphysical debate, we're here to help people," Carisi said.

"Enough!" Benson said.

_Benson put her hands on her hips and lowered her head a bit. She sighed._

"This isn't getting us anywhere. Let's go talk to the others, he remains here in cuffs while the doctors treat him for whatever he has, and we keep up the search," Benson said.

"For who? You still haven't told us what's going on or who this is. We can't treat this patient without having the specific details of what the hell happened!" House demanded.

_The detectives looked at one another, uncertain of what to do. Benson looked to Fin, who nodded._

"This is William Ralph, he's here on a trip with a group from his college. He's also a hacktivist vigilante from Anonymous who got involved in a police manhunt that just recently started. The reason we didn't tell you was because we're trying to get all the details wrapped up with what happened with him, the other patients, and our targets," Benson said.

"Who? Is it some wannabe arsonist who couldn't find a lighter even if he connected to a necklace around his neck," House scoffed.

"It's actually more than one perp. Several actually, some were behind bars and some weren't. Some more dangerous than others, but they're being led by a man that recently became infamous: Rob Miller," Benson explained.

_Silence fell over the room. Cuddy's eyes widened in shock and House bit his lip._

"Well, it looks like you all have some major explaining to do," House said as he looked at the detectives.

**To be continued…**

_**(I hope this was good.)**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**(Hope this new chapter's good.)**_

**Chapter 2: First Discussions**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, several minutes later)_

_The SVU team walked into the ER room a few women are laid up in beds with a young girl sitting in a chair by a bed and another girl sitting next to another bed. Benson rushed over to the beds. She knew all these people and wish it was all under better terms. Alexandra Cabot, Ruby Hunter, Nikki Staines, Attica Staines, Vicki Sayers, Lourdes Vega, and Kim Garnet._

"Oh my God," Benson said as she checked on them.

"Well, you're looking chipper, Lieutenant," Cabot said.

"Alex, I'm so sorry," Benson said.

_Alexandra groaned in pain. The bruising on her left arm and right side of her forehead along with a few cuts on her right hand were still bleeding but not much._

"Yeah…well…that doesn't do good much now," Cabot sighed.

"We should've been there, we're sorry," Carisi said.

"Do you have any idea where they went after the incident?" Rollins asked.

"No, it was hard to tell when they attacked us, and we were on the ground!" Kim hissed.

"What happened to the boy who helped us?" Ruby asked.

_The team looked at one another, unsure of what to say. _

"I'm sure he's fine, sweetheart. He just needs the nice doctors to help him heal," Cabot said.

"That's good, he was nice," Ruby said.

_Rollins rolled her eyes. Benson closed her eyes and sighed. They both opened their eyes to see Cabot and Nikki glaring at them. They looked to see Ruby and Attica looking at them with worry._

"He's…got…uh…" Rollins struggled to reply.

"The doctors are seeing to him, they'll do their best," Benson said as she squatted down to be eye level with the girls.

"Well, any leads on our attackers?" Nikki asked, sarcasm thick in her voice.

"We have the local police spreading the word, sending out photos of all those we know are involved in the incident," Carisi answered.

"How did this all happen?" Nikki asked.

"Well maybe not manipulating evidence would've kept Miller in jail and that wouldn't have led to him recruiting men on the inside and outside for his revenge," Rollins said.

_Nikki glared at her._

"I've been in the legal game a lot longer than you and I know that law isn't always good enough," Nikki said.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot, if the laws don't fit your agenda the only choice is to become a criminal," Rollins said.

"Me and my daughter are in danger, you bitch. I tried to play by the rules, they didn't work," Nikki hissed.

"Just because you didn't get the results doesn't mean you can throw out the rules!" Rollins called out.

"You don't decide how I get to protect my daughter and myself!" Nikki shouted.

"Enough!" Fin said.

_They all turned to look at him._

"What was and what happened, we can discuss it. We need to head to the local station to organize the manhunt and setup defensive plans for the victims," Fin said.

"We can't just leave them here without protection. Have the local police send over a detail to protect them. We will need to go between thee station and here to keeps tabs on them and your vigilante," Benson added.

_The rest of the team nodded in agreement._

_(PPTH, House's office's meeting section, a few minutes ago)_

_House and his team sat or stood around the meeting room. Cuddy and Wilson were in their respective offices going about their usual duties. House spun his cane with one hand._

"I don't like our new playmates," House said.

"Why is that? Because one threatened to shut you up or because one tried to and did humiliate you?" Chase asked.

"Oh, I'm used to them. But I shot them down. That's not what concerns me. What concerns me what Mr. Personality did to tall, dark, and silent," House said.

"Are you scared?" Thirteen asked.

"What I'm worried about is some lunatic doing something to some kid which we don't have the results yet to some of the tests," House said.

"Like that hasn't stopped you before from doing what you want," Thirteen said.

"Ooh, you really know me, don't you?" House said.

"The seizure and hemorrhaging could be a number of possibilities. We still have to wait for the MRI to be open," Foreman said.

"But we should still try to put forward some theories. Leukemia explains the bleeding from the mouth and the seizure," Taub suggested.

"No signs of weight loss, no flu-like symptoms either. Next," House said.

"Viral Hemorrhagic Fever? It also explains the bleeding from the mouth and the seizure," Chase suggested.

"No signs of any loss in strength and he hasn't complained about muscle aches," House replied.

"It's too early to tell, we need to wait for the result and keep an eye on the patient," Foreman said.

"Ok, anything else from the first check over before the goon squad interrupted?" House asked.

"He's been cut on his face, chest, and arms. Bruising on his arms and chest," Thirteen answered.

"Something I haven't been told yet," House said.

_Thirteen rolled her eyes._

"Give him something for the pain. Oh, make sure that the coppers don't intrude in our work. I don't wanna have any yellow tape in my way. Or else I'm gonna have get my special scissors," House said.

"We can't just intrude on their investigation. There's a manhunt out for the maniac behind all this," Chase said.

"Well that and we have no idea how many other sick bastards are running with him. Neither the police nor us know the full story," Thirteen added.

"Go ask him than," House said.

"We did," Foreman replied.

"No, the cops were grilling him when we got there then he had a seizure which we had to respond with knocking him out. So, when he's awake and the cops are showing their junk and the tests come back, talk to him to spill his secrets," House said as he started to walk out of the room.

"What if the cops interrupt us?" Taub asked.

"Take them over the rainbow, show 'em your pot of gold," House said then exited the room.

**To be continued…**

_**(I hope this was good.)**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**(Next chapter, hope it's good.)**_

**Chapter 3: Quick Reviews**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, several minutes later)_

_William watched as Chase as he checked on the bags and the machines hooked up to him._

"Well you're stable for the moment. That's good, but the tests aren't done yet," Chase informed.

"What about the others?" William asked.

"You're in far worse condition than they are, and they have basic cuts and trauma," Chase replied.

"Can you tell me?" William asked.

"*Sighs* We cleaned their wounds and have them on pain medicine," Chase answered.

"*Sighs* That's good. Are they protected?" William asked.

"The SVU organized protection for them. How did you encounter them?" Chase asked.

_William gave him a 'really?' look._

"It could be relevant to what you're sick with or at least if there were any signs of sickness before the incident," Chase added.

"No signs before or during the incident," William answered.

"Well, House did come into your room because of the SVU's performance. Otherwise he wouldn't have come…maybe, not sure," Chase replied.

"That's ok. I doubt the SVU would want me in the hands of the hospital's rumored best doctor," William sighed.

"Well, from my understanding, they don't like people dying or being dead," Chase said.

"Perhaps," William replied.

_Chase picked up a notebook on the cabinet next to the bed. He jotted some things down. He then got a perplexed look on his face and turned to look at William._

"They said you were in Anonymous?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, well sorta. Anonymous is a complex creation, there's no how telling how many people claim to be/are Anonymous. Whether certain individuals do it alone or together is a part of the mystery," William answered.

"But the awareness and activity of Anonymous' of media profile has lessened," Chase said.

"I guess trying to get back to working in the shadows," William replied.

"You sure you're part of Anonymous?" Chase asked.

"I know I'm not a confident guy, probably won't ever be…even with that, I did my best to do the hacking when the word got out Rob Miller and his friends I was already here. Through some images spread across the web, they found they were headed here. It was also discovered the others were already here before them," William answered.

"And you went by yourself to help them?" Chase asked.

"The word was also put out to look out for the maniacs. There's been a 24-hour surveillance since we started tracking them. I was keeping watch from where I was staying…and caught a hit. I spread the word as I moved to stalk them," William answered.

"Stalk them?" Chase replied.

"Anonymous are wolves of the web, though I'm not sure I'm good enough to be a wolf. Regardless, I couldn't let the possibility of not taking action, so I had started my hunt…but you know how that worked out," William explained.

_Chase nodded. He wrote some things down on his notebook._

"I gotta go report back to House, which he will respond with insults and rejecting mine and the others' theories after we get the tests back. One of the others will come to check on you in a little while," Chase said.

"Ok," William replied.

_Chase nodded and left the room._

_(Plainsboro Police Station, several minutes later)_

_The team had been set up a room by the local police. Photos of their targets were placed on the board with data surrounding the recent incident and their 'departure' from New York City. _

"I can't believe they escaped; we were so close!" Benson grumbled as she walked in front of the team just inches from the display.

"If it wasn't for that brat, we would've had them," Rollins said.

"Again, if he hadn't been there, they might not have survived," Carisi argued.

"Really? One guy against who knows how many? Go over the list of names," Rollins scoffed.

"Seriously?" Fin asked.

"Yeah, seriously," Rollins answered.

"Rob Miller, Nick Hunter, Malcolm Royce, Gary Munson, Steve Walker, Riley Porter, and Miguel Lopez," Fin said.

"See, all old friends," Rollins sarcastically remarked.

"We get it already," Carisi hissed.

"I'm a cop, I don't believe in vigilante justice," Rollins said.

"Stop it, this isn't helping any," Fin stated.

_The group quieted down for a few minutes. Benson turned to look at the photos._

"Let's go over all of this again, maybe we're missing something," Benson said.

_Fin nodded._

"First, Rob Miller was released from prison because of the discovery of manipulated evidence about his conviction. Before that, he had a few visitors come in and out of the prison he was in, with that the guards found during his release certain other prisoners had escaped by way of using other prisoners as decoys. During the time the visitors were seeing Miller, they got in contact with men outside prison, specifically Nick Hunter. With this, Alex became aware of Miller's contacts through her contacts and organized the travel of the other victims to get away from them. Nick Hunter informed Miller of Ruby's escape and Miller theorized what happened then they all gave chase. They caught up to them and assaulted them. While this was going on, without or knowledge, Anonymous had been monitoring the situation while the message went through their networks and William was already here in Plainsboro, he got the message and went to follow them. Now we're here," Fin explained.

"I'm not sure what we missed," Carisi sighed.

"Because we didn't," Rollins said.

"So, what now?" Carisi asked.

"Local police are making roadblocks in and out of the city, while patrols are constant. Locals are advised to stay in their homes as much as possible and make sure not to go anywhere else alone. Nothing so far since the incident. Those bastards are hiding somewhere, and we all know that they're not going to leave even with the police searching for them. This is personal and they're all psychopaths…they will go after Alex and the others, Nick will want his daughter back and his revenge…as will the rest of them," Benson said.

"Why isn't Ruby with her aunt?" Carisi asked.

"Before we left Cabot told me she talked to her and planned to set up her to move away with her and Ruby with the whole new life set up," Benson answered.

"Because Nick would try to come after them," Carisi said.

"But most of these guys wouldn't do this stuff by themselves. Since Miller is in charge, he's gotta have more men with them. To get from New York to here, they would've had to have help…including locally," Fin added.

"Great…so we gotta find some local scumbags who are or already are good stock for Miller's employment," Rollins grumbled.

"What about the kid?" Fin asked.

"That ass of a doctor will deal with him then we put him away," Rollins said.

"The other doctors don't know what's wrong with him, so they don't know how long he'll be in there," Carisi added.

"We'll let them worry about him, we've got a manhunt to lead," Benson said.

**To be continued…**

_**(Hope this is good.)**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**(Hope this is a good chapter.)**_

**Chapter 4: Questions and Problems**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, House's office, hours later)_

_House looked at the white board while his team sits around the table._

"After the banana bag placed to fix the electrolyte imbalance had finished its run and done its job, for now," Thirteen said.

"Tox screen came back negative," Foreman added.

"The chemical imbalance was caused by low blood sugar, low magnesium, and high calcium," Taub said.

"No seizures or hemorrhaging since the first time and he's stable for now," Chase said.

"So, we've got a 21-year-old kid with an illness we have no idea what it is. What about the MRI?" House replied.

"Gonna have the procedure soon, no telling what the head trauma did to him," Taub elaborated.

"His wounds were cleaned and were sealed up. What kind of sick bastard would do this to a kid?" Thirteen added.

"He's not a kid, but we already know. SVU let us know who's frontrunning the Cabal behind this. Rob Miller, one messed up dude," Foreman said.

"I don't care who's behind this, I care about finding what this kid's sick with," House hissed.

_The group scratched their heads as they looked at the words written on the white board: Bleeding from the mouth and Seizures. Head Trauma: damage to be determined._

"Maybe something those bastards did to him caused all this?" Thirteen suggested.

"Tox screen was clean, found no evidence of anything introduced through the cuts. The blunt force trauma showed no signs of anything more than someone hitting him with something heavy," Chase said.

"The MRI will show that or not," Foreman said.

"We also need to test for HIV and STDs," Chase added.

"Set up the lab for the tests check the former tests again with the STD and HIV test. Go check on the kid, keep an eye on him. Tell me if he starts talking about Anonymous secrets," House said.

_(Plainsboro streets, an hour later)_

_The team walked along the streets. They saw some people out and about, but not as many as would befit the size of the place._

"Well, at least some people got the message," Rollins sighed.

_They saw police cars patrolling in all their range of visions._

"Where are those bastards?" Fin grumbled.

"We need to find them. The longer they're out there, the more of a threat they pose," Benson said.

"The local police are doing all they can. We can't expect to find them instantly," Rollins replied.

"We can't let these bastards escape our grasp," Benson grumbled.

"We'll get'em, lieutenant, just gotta check under every rock," Rollins said.

_They continued to walk through several minutes, unable to think or say anything._

"Where could these guys be? We had their faces placed on TV and the internet," Carisi asked.

"These guys are psychopaths, they're unpredictable and likely to do any kinda of horror. So, we don't know why they haven't been found," Rollins answered.

"Each of them has done evil to women, we know their stories. We should know how to find and catch them," Benson said.

"Do you have a suggestion?" Carisi asked.

"*Sighs* Just keep searching," Benson answered.

"Then what are we doing out here?" Carisi asked.

"Needed to take a walk, try to clear my head," Benson answered.

"…You're mad about what Stone and Staines did…" Fin sighed.

"Yes! Ok! I'm mad! They messed with the case and got Miller jailed illegally," Benson replied.

"They did what they thought was right," Carisi replied.

"But it wasn't right," Benson said.

"Which why you're mad at this kid too," Fin added.

"All of us should be. He's a vigilante," Rollins said.

"Yes, what he did was illegal and maybe messed with the manhunt. But Alex and the others seem glad he was there," Carisi argued.

"Did he prevent them from getting hurt?" Rollins scoffed.

"Stop talking about the kid. We need to focus on finding our quarry," Benson said.

_Benson massaged her forehead._

"Need widen the search, check outside the city," Benson sighed.

"You think they're hiding out in some abandoned building?" Rollins asked.

"More likely in a penthouse partying about what they did to those poor women," Benson grumbled.

_Fin looked at Benson. Her face was red, and she clutched her head in pain. She walked a bit unsteadily._

"Olivia, you need to eat something and get some sleep. You're in bad shape," Fin said.

_Olivia rolled her eyes and sighed._

"I'm fine, Fin. I just need to catch these bastards and I'll be fine," Benson said.

"That comes later, after you get yourself focused," Fin replied.

"He's right, you need to get yourself better to fight these guys," Carisi agreed.

_Olivia groaned._

"Fine! Fine!" Benson grumbled.

"Come on. Let's head back to the precinct and order something," Fin said.

"Ok…ok," Benson sighed.

"What do you want?" Fin asked as they started walking back.

"I don't know, surprise me," Benson sighed.

"You're really out of it, aren't you?" Rollins asked.

"These guys are rapists, murderers, or both. We've had them in jail and had each a helluva a time trying to bring them down. But now because of some fuck ups, we've gotta track them all down and catch them again. This time, I'm considering a bullet in each of them, so they have a more difficult time getting away," Benson said.

"We'll catch them, we have a good record," Rollins replied.

"Even if we catch them, Miller won't go to jail for as long as he should…the bastard has escaped our grasp when he was done away with," Benson said.

"Well we'll make sure that he doesn't get away with anything. There's more people know about what kind of man he is, and we've got a city full of them searching for him," Rollins added.

"It's not that simple. They're gonna be more careful than before and are gonna plan every step as carefully as they can," Fin stated.

"We have every person with a badge and gun searching for them, they're not gonna escape," Rollins scoffed.

"Once we're back, get the sheriff to start having some of his men patrolling in a 10-mile radius outside of the city. We're gonna check under every rock to find these bastards," Benson said.

"You got it," Carisi said.

**To be continued…**

_**(Hope this was good.)**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**(Sorry if I mess up/have been messing up any of the medical diagnosis and procedural matters.)**_

**Chapter 5: A Little Personal**

_(Plainsboro Police Station, the next day)_

_The SVU team stood before the police station's officers._

"We spoke about these men already, but we need to discuss additional methods to finding them," Benson stated.

"Will the FBI be coming? With men this dangerous, we'll need their resources," a policewoman asked.

"We're not certain, but they may come. But for now, we're heading up this investigation. We've notified police stations in the surrounding counties, towns, and cities about these men to stay vigilant. But here, we'll need a few teams to patrol just outside the city," Benson replied.

_Some of the cops nodded._

"We haven't found any sign of the men in here. What makes you think they're still around here?" Another cop asked.

"We know these guys, they're out for revenge and they won't stop till they get it," Benson answered.

"These bastards are narcissistic, sadistic pieces of dirt. They're gonna be vicious in their intent," Rollins added.

"How are the women doing?" The policewoman asked.

"Banged up, but they should be fine," Carisi answered.

"We should bring them into protective custody, we can keep a closer on them here," another cop suggested.

"The doctors said they wanted to keep them there to keep an eye on them," Carisi replied.

"House?" All of the cops said at the same time.

"Who?" Rollins asked.

"Doctor, smartass, walks with a cane," one cop answered.

_The SVU team sighed and groaned at the realization._

"The guy's a jerk," Fin grumbled.

"Yeah," one cop sighed.

"Why hasn't he been arrested?" Rollins asked.

"He's…had…trouble with the law…but he's the best doctor here…that's why he's still at the hospital…he's also nuts," another cop answered.

"Nuts?" Rollins said.

"He's just nuts," the same cops said.

"Is it safe to keep them there with him?" Fin asked.

"From what we've heard he's more interested in the anarchist than the women," another cop answered.

"Not him again," Rollins groaned.

"We know you hate him, ok? Let's just get back to the case," Fin said.

"Regardless, Doctor Hyde will be out of our way," Benson said.

"If he feels what's going on is truly interesting and connects with his case, you might not be so lucky," another cop warned.

"Well…isn't that lovely?" Benson sarcastically remarked, turning to her team.

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, William's room, present)_

_Thirteen walked into the room, a notebook and pen in her arm. She saw bags under his eyes and saw he twisted and turned in his sleep. She checked the bags then made a few notes. William slowly woke up to see her writing in her notebook as he turned his head to the side. Thirteen glanced over as William turned his head back._

"Hey sleepy head," Thirteen said.

"H-Hey," William said.

_Thirteen turned to see him as saw his eyes move away quickly and blushed. She slightly smirked._

"You ok?" Thirteen asked.

"I don't know," William answered.

_Thirteen sighed._

"We need to do a test for STDs and HIV," Thirteen said.

_William's eyes opened wide._

"W-Why?" William asked.

"We need to cover every base, make sure we don't miss anything," Thirteen answered.

_William nervously nodded his head._

"Y-You don't need to," William said.

"Doctor patient confidentiality, don't worry, your sex life won't be shared," Thirteen chuckled.

_Thirteen saw William breathe in rasps._

"Are you ok?" Thirteen asked.

"I…I don't have a…I-I don't have a s-sex life," William stammered his answer.

"You're 21, you've gotta have had sex by now," Thirteen chuckled.

_William started to tear up a bit._

"I-I'm…a virgin," William said.

_Thirteen slowly put the notebook and pen down._

"Seriously?" Thirteen half-chuckled.

"I…I've never been in a relationship…never even had my first kiss," William stammered.

"Whoa," Thirteen said under her breath in surprise, almost under her breath.

_William turned on his side. Thirteen walked to the other side of the bed. She squatted down and looked at him._

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it," Thirteen said.

"I know…I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so pathetic," William replied.

"It's not pathetic," Thirteen said.

"Y-You have what you need. I-I'm sorry you wasted your time coming down here," William said.

"It's ok, you…you gave me an answer we needed to rule out some possibilities for whatever is causing your sickness," Thirteen said.

_William looked nervously at her and nodded then looked away. Thirteen looked down and nodded. She sighed._

"Let us know if you need anything. Get some sleep," Thirteen said then left the room.

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, House's office's meeting room, a few minutes later)_

_Foreman, Taub, and Chase were writing down notes. House was spinning his cane around. Thirteen walked into the office._

"He's miserable," Thirteen said.

"Oh yeah, I think the seizure and bleeding from the mouth would've made that clear?" House scoffed.

"We don't need to do tests for STDs or HIV," Thirteen replied.

"Yeah, like we're gonna do what some stupid kid wants," House said.

"He's a virgin," Thirteen hissed.

_The others looked at one another and they all laughed. Thirteen rolled her eyes in annoyance._

"Stop it!" Thirteen snarled.

_The others stopped._

"He's depressed, show some compassion," Thirteen hissed.

"Go jump his bones if you want to cure him of his depression," House scoffed.

_Thirteen slammed her notebook and pen down onto the couch near the door then began marching towards him with a vicious look on her face. Foreman hurried over and stopped her from getting any closer to House. House had a look of half shock and half amusement._

"He could barely look at me when he told me! He's ashamed of it! Even if I were to consider what you 'suggested' it would be out of pity!" Thirteen growled.

"So, you don't like him? You seem really quick to jump to his defense," House said.

"He's suffering and I have a heart; I feel sorry that he hasn't experienced intimacy before," Thirteen snarled.

"I don't give a damn if he hasn't had a go in the sheets. Do the damn tests anyways," House said.

"I believe him," Thirteen replied.

"I know and like I said: I don't care. Do it," House said.

_Thirteen rolled her eyes and left._

"Maybe we shouldn't have laughed," Foreman said.

"You think she's right?" Taub asked.

"It doesn't matter, his word isn't medically relevant," House interjected.

"Maybe not. Even though we haven't done the MRI yet, the head trauma could've caused frontal lobe disinhibition?" Foreman replied.

_House contemplated on this._

"Make sure you do that MRI," House said.

**To be continued…**

_**(Hope this was good.)**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**(Sorry for the messed-up timelines, didn't realize that till recently, that's my bad. Well that and I didn't know Law & Order was a show in the House MD reality.)**_

**Chapter 6: Very Small Steps**

_(Plainsboro Precinct, the next day)_

_Benson read through a stack of papers. Each day she had every cop out on duty write reports of their patrols. With every report she didn't get anything she hoped for. There were no details of suspicious activity, no recent assaults, no strange men spotted, etc. She groaned in aggravation and anger. _

"These bastards can't get away," Benson sighed as she rubbed her temples.

_She heard footsteps approaching. She turned to see Fin walk up to her. He had two coffees and held out one two Benson. She half smiled and took it._

"Thanks," Benson sighed.

_Fin nodded then pulled up a seat and sat beside her._

"Anything?" Fin asked.

"Nothing," Benson answered.

"These bastards…they're around here somewhere. Miller wants his revenge and Nick wants his daughter back. We know these guys; they haven't run off even though they're cowards. The moment will come where they won't be so lucky," Fin said.

"*Sighs* Just going over these details and there's nothing…nothing! These bastards are covering their tracks," Benson replied.

"They know we've have guys covering the town and are keeping a low profile. I'll go out and do some patrols personally if it'll make you feel better," Fin sighed.

"No, don't…I need you here coordinating with me…and I don't want any of my team getting dragged into a hole I won't ever find once I get the news," Benson replied.

"*Scoffs* I can take care of myself, Liv," Fin chuckled.

"I know, but if they were to ambush you –" Benson started to say.

"Ok, ok. I won't go. Oh, and a local detective wants to talk to you…about the doctor with the cane," Fin interjected.

"My concern is with the men were trying to capture. The ass with the cane isn't," Benson replied.

"He said the ass with the cane may try to get involved with the manhunt," Fin said.

"*Scoffs* Well, that's not gonna happen," Benson laughed.

"I told him that, but from what he warned me this guy…isn't normal…like mad genius level not normal who does crazy things to get what he wants," Fin replied.

"Tell this detective that if the ass with the cane tries to get involved, I'll have him arrested," Benson scoffed.

"The detective had him arrested and took him to court…and the ass with a cane won," Fin sighed.

_Benson groaned and put the current report in her hand down. She sighed._

"I have enough on my hands as it is. I don't want to get this jackass involved. Let him enjoy his little playground and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone," Benson said.

"Does that include or not include the hacktivist?" Fin asked.

"We'll need him alive for the trial…if there is one," Benson answered.

"Than I guess we'll have to cycle checking up on them all, including the hacktivist," Fin sighed.

"Yeah…great," Benson replied.

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, William's room, present)_

_Taub and Foreman entered the room, Foreman rubbed the small bruise on his hand. William turned to look at them._

"I'm sorry about the other day," William said.

"It's ok, seizures make people lose control of their bodies," Foreman replied.

_William's hand twitch, but just for a moment._

"Symptom?" Taub whispered.

"Maybe, but we still need to do the MRI," Foreman replied.

"Sorry, just never really liked that word," William sighed.

"Control?" Taub asked.

"Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to make a big deal out of it," William answered.

"Just a response to the word than," Taub sighed.

"Doesn't matter. We gotta take him to get the MRI while Chase and Thirteen do the STD test," Foreman replied.

"Are you really a virgin?" Taub asked.

_William sighed and bit his lip._

"…Yes," William answered.

_Foreman and Taub gave each other shocked looks. William saw this out of the corner of his eye._

"Don't be so surprised," William said.

_The two didn't say anything._

"Based off your silence, when Dr. Hadley told you all…you laughed," William sighed.

_The two looked at one another with shock._

"H-How?" Taub gasped.

"It doesn't matter, can't say I blame you…it is pathetic," William answered.

_The two didn't know what to say._

"M-Maybe…let's just go do the MRI," William sighed.

_The two doctors nodded. Foreman turned to the cop outside William's room._

"We need to uncuff him for the MRI," Foreman said.

"When he's in the room," the cop said.

_Foreman sighed and nodded. After a few minutes they entered the room and the cop took off the cuffs then stood by the door. William got onto the retracting table as Foreman and Taub entered the observation room. The table moved William back into the main part of the machine. It started up and began scanning. Foreman and Taub looked carefully over the computers as the images were about to come up._

"I don't like that cop lurking by the door, it's creepy," Taub said.

"Well, the one of the conditions for us to diagnose and treat him is with police presence," Foreman sighed.

"I think House was gonna make that blonde detective's veins pop," Taub said.

"She definitely wasn't friendly, and he played her like a fiddle," Foreman said.

"Well none of them liked him, that's just par for the course," Taub replied.

"True," Foreman said.

"Doctors, can you hurry this up. I don't feel comfortable leaving this guy cuff less," the officer said.

_Foreman pushed the button he and the others used in situations like this._

"Things like this take time, officer, please be patient," Foreman said.

_The cop sighed._

"Hey doctors, thanks for taking the needle out," William said.

"Not a fan of needles?" Taub chuckled.

"I took allergy shots for years, they never grew on me," William replied.

_Taub chuckled. Foreman took his finger off the button. The two checked the screens._

"There's the obvious damage from the blunt force trauma," Foreman said.

"Yeah and…well…hmmm…another one bites the dust," Taub replied.

"*Sighs* Yeah…huh, curious," Foreman added.

_(House's office, a few minutes later)_

_House sat in a chair twirling his cane while the others either stood or sat._

"No sign of frontal lobe disinhibition, no damage to cause that was on the scans," Foreman said.

"We did see some odd activity in the area of the brains that controls the senses of smell and hearing," Taub said.

"So, nothing significant? There goes Thirteen's theory," House said.

"So, he's honest, is that so bad?" Thirteen asked.

"Let's see if the STD test will prove if he's a liar. Chase!" House replied.

"Nothing from them," Chase said.

"So, he wasn't lying," Thirteen said with a smile on her face.

"Being a virgin is something you should be happy for about someone else or yourself for that matter," House scoffed.

"But you shouldn't victimize them," Thirteen replied.

"Oh no, that would hurt their feelings," House said.

"House!" Thirteen hissed.

"Ok! Sheesh! I got nothing against the kid," House said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Then maybe you could not be an ass for once in your life?" Thirteen scoffed.

"But that's like asking a genius not to be a genius," House said.

"I know it's part of your 'process' and all, mayhaps try talking to him without being a dick?" Thirteen suggested.

"Part of what I do is to avoid talking to patients, you all do that leg work," House replied.

"Because you literally can't do leg work?" Thirteen scoffed.

_The others chuckled at that._

"Nice burn," House replied.

"So, what now?" Taub asked.

"You're doctors, aren't you?" House scoffed.

_House whistled as his attention turned away and continued to spin his cane. The others sighed and walked out._

**To be continued…**

_**(Sorry for the late update.)**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**(Here's the next update.)**_

**Chapter 7: Butting Heads**

_(Plainsboro Precinct, the next day)_

_Benson is taking a sip of some coffee. She didn't get any sleep last night and the bags under her eyes are ever present. She puts down the cup and sighs._

"You look like hell," Fin said as he approached her.

"Well that's sweet," Benson scoffed.

"Just keeping it real. Still nothing?" Fin replied.

"Nope, this is crap," Benson sighed.

"Take a break, Liv, you need your rest," Fin said.

"Fin, these bastards are out there and we haven't been able to find a trace of them. There's something wrong here," Benson scoffed.

"You're right, but we've just started. Get some rest," Fin said.

"You're right. Have you heard from Cabot and the others?" Benson asked.

"Not yet. Rollins and Carisi went to talk to them about if any memories came back," Fin answered.

"Good," Benson sighed.

"Want me to talk to the kid?" Fin asked.

"William Ralph is a vigilante, a criminal, and I don't want him involved. Carisi asked the same thing, but Rollins agreed that talking to him was no good. After some arguing, Carisi agreed not to talk to him," Benson answered.

"Have you talked to the doctors? There might be something about what happened to him that could explain some things," Fin suggested.

"No, Fin. We know he fought and lost badly then we arrived. We got there as they ran off and we couldn't catch them…this time," Benson said.

"Maybe, but he's a hacker who found them before us," Fin replied.

"Detective Tutuola, you will not talk to that boy. Do you understand me?" Benson said as she stood up and slammed her hands onto the desk, her eyes never leaving Fin.

_Fin just stared back._

"Yes, Captain," Fin said in an almost deadpan voice.

_Fin walked away. Benson shook her head and sighed._

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, the women's room)_

_Carisi and Rollins stood before the beds of the women. A few nurses are tending to them._

"We already went over this, why are you questioning us again?" Nikki asked.

"Just seeing if anything came back. Perhaps what happened caused some trauma which messed with your memory?" Carisi answered.

"No, nothing," Nikki said after a minute.

"We've told you already: we were coming through Plainsboro to go to another city for a rest. We were tired and hungry. When we were driving one of the van's tires was shot. I barely managed to keep the van from flipping like a can," Cabot added.

"Yeah and you got out your gun, which was shot away then you all were attacked," Rollins said.

"Wow, you put it so romantically," Nikki scoffed.

"*Chuckles* Just calling it like I see it," Rollins scoffed right back.

"Ok, enough ladies. Are there any memories? Any at all?" Carisi asked.

_The women sighed, trying to remember._

"No…I can't remember anything else, damn it," Nikki hissed.

"Nikki, kids," Cabot whispered as she nodded to the girls.

_Ruby and Attica turned to the detectives, who looked back. They weren't hurt like the women were, just one or two small cuts. Carisi knelt down and smiled. The girls smiled back._

"You two doing alright? Want something to eat?" Carisi asked.

"No…I'm just worried about mommy," Attica answered.

"I want to see my aunt," Ruby added.

"Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright," Carisi replied.

_Rollins couldn't help but smile a little. Carisi stood up._

"Thank you for your time, we'll get back to you later," Carisi said.

"What about my daddy?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, honey," Alex almost stammered to say.

"What about, sweetheart?" Rollins asked.

"I heard some of your friends talking about him, that he's here…where? Is he coming for me?" Ruby asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"No, no. He's not going to get you, sweetheart," Rollins said.

"Please, he hurt my mommy," Ruby cried.

"Did he tell you that?" Rollins asked.

_Ruby sobbed and nodded. She ran and hugged Cabot. Cabot hugged her back. Carisi and Rollins looked at one another with worry and anger._

"Ruby, when did your daddy tell you that?" Cabot asked.

"T-The…the day after mommy died," Ruby cried.

"He wasn't there where we found you?" Rollins asked.

"N-No," Ruby gasped.

"I thought you said those men you attacked you?" Rollins asked the women.

"We said Miller's men attacked us. One said: 'This is just the start for what you all did to us'," Cabot answered.

"I guess we were all wrong," Carisi said.

_(House's office, present)_

_House played an air guitar as a rock song without lyrics played. Wilson walks into the room and crosses his arms, waiting for House to finish. House continues playing, his eyes having been closed the whole time. After another minute or so, Wilson walks over to House's computer and pushes pause on the video playing the song. House continues playing his air guitar._

"House!" Wilson said.

"Busy," House replied.

"House, Cuddy had you take charge of the women and girls. You need to go check on them," Wilson said.

"Not while Thing 1 and Thing 2 are there," House replied.

"I'll go with you, don't worry big guy," Wilson couldn't help but chuckle as he patted his friend's shoulder.

_House grumbled and stopped playing his guitar. He got his cane and walked with his friend out of his office._

"They don't have anything unusual going on with them. They're boring in medical case terms, why can't the E.R. just deal with them?" House asked.

"Because Cuddy promised the Manhattan SVU the best doctor at the hospital would watch over them," Wilson answered.

"Great, now I have to place nurse maid," House groaned.

"Well think about it: you'll get to harass more people, including former high up law practitioners and decorate law enforcement officers," Wilson said.

"Want to get me arrested?" House asked.

"No, but you love a challenge," Wilson answered.

_House sighed as the two of them entered the room. Rollins is taking notes while Carisi is consoling the women and girls._

"I so hate to interrupt this interrogation, but I have minimal work to do," House said.

"This isn't an interrogation," Carisi replied.

"Oh, not from you. With her," House said as he pointed at Rollins.

_Rollins looked at him with a mixed expression then he scoffed._

"Her body language and facial visage: tense shoulders, veins in her neck, red coloration on her face, tense breathing, her hands shaking…she's mad at these women for whatever reason," House said.

"I'm not talking about this with you," Rollins said.

"You don't have to. These women did something that made you agitated. Given that you're a detective, you're mad that they did something illegal. And from what I heard when we first met you people and how you were grilling our main patient, you don't give a damn about the nature of the action, yet you just hate it that it's illegal," House analyzed.

"Shut up," Rollins said.

"Look at you: you're a detective in an SVU precinct who hates victims and people who help them when they do things that are illegal and you don't give a damn about any of that," House added.

"Shut up," Rollins repeated.

"Not that care, but you seem like –" House started to say.

"House! Kids," Wilson said, motioning his head in the direction of Ruby and Attica.

_House turned to look at them and they looked at him._

"Hey, how about this big goof right here go takes you to get some candy? Sound good?" House asked in a mock excited voice.

_The two smiled and nodded excitedly. Wilson glared at House, but then turned with a smile towards the girls. They followed him out of the room._

"Where was I? Oh yeah: you seem like a cold-hearted bitch," House said.

_Rollins started to cuss as she approached House and pulled back one fist. Carisi rushed forward and grabbed hold of her._

"You bastard!" Rollins snarled.

"Takes one to know one," House replied.

_House then looked over to the patients._

"Anything feeling weird?" House asked.

"Uhh, no…I think," Alex answered.

"Ok, we're good here," House replied and started to walk out.

"Seriously? That's it?" Carisi asked.

_House stopped._

"You're not gonna do any tests?" Nikki asked.

"She said nothing weird is going on…and I'm not interested…so no," House said, blatant sarcasm in his voice when he turned his head to look at Carisi.

_House continued to walk out the door._

"I haven't been here long, but I've heard stories about you Dr. House. And you're one cold bastard. Treating patients and colleagues like garbage, thinking yourself to be the most intelligent man around. You're a sociopath," Carisi said.

"I am the smartest man here. And whatever I do is a part of my process. I do my job, apparently you all can't do yours," House scoffed and exited the room.

_Rollins's turned red and Carisi held her back, though not as much as he did before. House walked through the hall and came across Wilson and the girls at the vending machine. Wilson is scratching his head as the girls pick several pieces of candy. House smirked and walked over to them._

"Having fun?" House asked.

"Ohhh yeah, best time of my life," Wilson scoffed.

"Are you gonna take care of my mommy and the other ladies?" Attica asked.

"Don't' worry, they're gonna be fine," Wilson answered as he looked at him with a mock smile.

"Good, tell me how it goes," House replied and started to walk away.

"Are the nice ladies gonna be ok?" Ruby asked, her question directed at House.

_House stopped and looked at her. House started to open his mouth, but Wilson gave him a look with a mix of emotions._

"Uh, sure," House said, stumbling to answer with a different response than what he was gonna originally say.

_Ruby smiled. House walked away, sighing as he rolled his eyes. He got into an elevator after a painful walk and clicked one of the buttons. A hand kept the doors from closing and opened them up with House looking to see Cuddy. Her arms are crossed, and she has an agitate look on her face._

"You going to tell me what the hell happened with the two detectives?" Cuddy hissed.

"No, not really," House replied.

"House –" Cuddy started to say.

"I got a job to do and do it well, unlike them," House interjected as he pushed the button again.

_Cuddy tried to open the elevator, but House kept her back by pointing his cane at him. He smirked at her when the doors closed._

"Damn it," Cuddy hissed as she walked off.

_**To be continued…**_

**(Hope this was good.)**


	9. Chapter 8

_**(Here's the next chapter.)**_

**Chapter 8: Tempers Flare**

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, House's office, the next day)_

_Benson almost breaks the door open. House and his team turn to look at her. Her face is red with rage. She glares at House, her hands on her hips._

"Oh look: it's less angry Rosie O'Donnell," House scoffed.

"This isn't a joke, jackass!" Benson hissed.

"You verbally assaulted one of my detectives!" Benson retorted.

"Would you rather I have called her cutthroat bitch?" House asked rhetorically.

_Benson started to walk towards him. House got onto his feet and lifted his chair and cane, pointing both at her._

"Back Sarabi, back!" House proclaimed.

_Benson scoffed, shaking her head._

"Is everything a joke to you?" Benson asked.

"Ya got me," House scoffed as he put the chair back down and sat down.

"My detective was interviewing victims for any possible returned memories the victims had of those sick bastards!" Benson hissed.

"It is possible there are memories that have been blocked, but that doesn't mean a talk would've brought them back," House replied.

"You want to do a medical test?" Benson asked.

"Hmmm, no. I'm required to work on William Ralph as his case is much more interesting. I'm required just to check on and oversee the treatment of your victims," House answered.

_Benson slammed her hands on the table and got in House's face._

"You son of a bitch. These women have been targeted by bastards that are rapists, murderers, sexists, and misogynists…and all of the above. Your lack of…'interest'…is deplorable…and reprehensible!" Benson berated.

_House looked at her, not saying any for a few moments._

"Is that supposed to scare guilt into me? The E.R. nurses and other doctors can handle it. I'll go in and check on them, but my directive is the kid's case which you interrupted by the way. Continue," House scoffed.

"No signs of improvement in his immune system," Taub said.

"From what he's said and what we've seen he's never had an immune system. Hell, we've confirmed that he's had sore throats before and where others would have there's healed in about a week and his lasted a week or two longer," Chase added.

"Good, he deserves to suffer," Benson scoffed.

"Right, because trying to help victims who were being targeted by evil pricks is a crime," Foreman said.

"He broke the law. He's a vigilante, a criminal. Nothing gives him the right to break the law," Benson argued.

"The law hasn't always been right," Foreman replied.

"Yes, our system is flawed yet it's what keeps society from chaos," Benson said.

"Order isn't necessarily bad, but certain rules hurt not help," Foreman retorted.

"Enough! Back to the case," House groaned.

"We've tried the antibiotics, they didn't work. He's developed a fever," Thirteen said.

"We've been looking into his medical history. Been hospitalized twice, the first for severe dizziness and the second was for nausea and the repeated feeling of going to vomit and unable to do it until he got to the hospital. Several visits to school nurses and convenient cares. He doesn't have that good of an immune system," Chase added.

"Poor baby, should we get him a band aid for him too?" Benson sarcastically asked.

"Hey, sarcasm is my thing. And if you didn't notice, this is my office," House said.

"This kid is depressed and has an illness we haven't identified yet. Leave him alone," Thirteen hissed.

"He interfered in a police manhunt to find and capture several perps and felons because of what they've done to women. There's likely more that we're not aware of who are with them. His illegal action caused us to lose them," Benson replied.

"He just wanted to help," Thirteen said.

"But not as a vigilante," Benson replied.

"If it wasn't for him, you might not have gotten there in time," Thirteen said.

"Don't give me that. I'm a lieutenant of the NYPD, we're far more capable of dealing with these bastards than some dumb kid with a mask," Benson replied.

"Well if it weren't with that 'dumb kid with a mask' didn't try to help the victims, you might not haven't gotten there in time to get to them…or when they were alive," Thirteen added.

"Don't you put that on us," Benson said.

"I know about Ruby's mother," Thirteen replied.

_Benson opened her mouth but couldn't say anything._

"You led her to her death because of 'the law' and it cost a victim her life. Don't tell me the police do everything right. Now, I've gotta go check on the patient," Thirteen said as she got up and into Benson's face then left.

_No one in the office said anything._

"Awkward," House said.

"Go to hell," Benson hissed.

"You first," House replied.

_Benson rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration as she left. _

_(Just outside of William's room, a couple of minutes later)_

_Benson is texting a message to her detectives when she looks out of the corner of her eye. William is asleep, but his face is red and Thirteen is putting an ice pack on his head. Benson stops the text and walks into the room. Thirteen looks at her but starts to check on William's hydration bag._

"What do you want?" Thirteen asked.

"When will he be ready to testify once we catch these guys?" Benson asked.

"If he does. His immune system was already bad before he got sick," Thirteen answered.

"Do you know if he'll get better?" Benson asked.

"Why are you asking? You don't give a damn about him," Thirteen said.

"I give a damn about the victims," Benson replied.

"Like Ruby's mother?" Thirteen asked rhetorically.

"Don't start," Benson said.

"No, I already have. I've heard of you and you've done a lot of good…but you've also done some significant bad as well…so don't act self-righteous to me. From what I heard about the blonde detective; I would've said the same thing as House. He just got to her before I did," Thirteen hissed.

"Amanda Rollins is a dedicated detective, who yes, has had some issues with some victims in the past…but she has shown concern and regret," Benson replied.

"From what I've heard, she's not doing much of that now," Thirteen replied.

"*Sighs* Detective Carisi told me in detail while Rollins vented," Benson said.

"Tell her she'll be watched around our patients and that she had better behave herself," Thirteen said.

"Is that a threat?" Benson asked.

"I don't have a Bronn," Thirteen scoffed.

"Have a what?" Benson asked, confused.

"You might want to look it up, you'll understand it better that way," Thirteen said.

_Benson didn't say anything, just looked at her a bit unsure of what to say then nodded. She started to walk out._

"Lieutenant," a voice said.

_Benson turned around. A somewhat conscious William is looking at her._

"Di…Did you find them?" William asked.

"That's police business," Benson said.

"That means 'no'," William sighed.

"You're a vigilante with no standing at all in this, law enforcement does," Benson said.

"The SVU has done a lot of good, to say that you haven't wouldn't be true. But I've heard stories of what some members of your unit has done, both past and present. How they've treated women of different walks of life, whether they be teachers, strippers, prostitutes, moms, or wealthy wives…you haven't treated them all with respect, you included," William replied.

"How the hell do you know that?!" Benson hissed.

"You already know the answer," William said.

_Benson took a step forward and opened her mouth about to say something, but blood starts flowing out of his mouth. He then starts coughing up blood._

"NURSE!" Thirteen screamed.

"What's g–" Benson tried to say.

"OUT!" Thirteen screamed at Benson.

_Benson looked at her with a bit of astonishment as one nurse took her out whilst the others hurried to help Thirteen with William._

**To be continued…**

_**(Hope this was good.)**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**(Next update's up.)**_

**Chapter 9: Second Glance**

_(Plainsboro Precinct, several minutes later)_

_Benson is walking back into the precinct. Her unit meets up with her._

"Got your message, what exactly happened?" Fin asked.

"I got into an argument with limping prick, one of the doctors under him, and William…before William started coughing up blood," Benson answered.

"Damn," Fin said.

"Karma's a bitch," Rollins chuckled.

"The doctor under him said that you would be watched and –" Benson started to say.

"Wait, did she threaten me?" Rollins hissed.

"No…she said she doesn't have a Bronn. Whatever the hell that means," Benson said.

_The rest of the group nodded to one another and sighing in unison in understanding. Benson looked at them with confusion._

"What?" Benson asked.

"Game of Thrones," the others said in unison whilst looking at her.

_After several minutes they showed her what Thirteen meant on YouTube. Benson scoffed._

"Wow, she has some serious balls on her," Benson scoffed.

"From what we've heard from the local cops she's one of the few doctors ever to work with that limping bastard and stand up to him," Fin said.

"That's something…but something that disturbed was how William said our unit has treated some women unjustly," Benson said.

"What do you mean?" Carisi asked.

"He said that women from different walks of life were treated with disrespect and how he knows about it…he specifically mentioned teachers, strippers, prostitutes, mothers, and wives," Benson said.

"Don't know, don't care," Rollins said.

"Well he clearly knows far more than he should and thinks we've done something wrong and he was absolutely furious," Benson said.

"Want me to take a crack at him?" Fin asked.

"No, I still don't want him involved. We keep talking to Alex and the others," Benson answered.

"But don't you think we should still keep an eye on the kid?" Carisi asked.

"Let the jackass with the cane do that," Benson answered.

_Carisi was quiet for a moment or two, unsure of what to say, along with the others._

"Ok, so what now?" Carisi asked.

"We keep searching," Benson answered.

"Where to now?" Rollins asked.

"Check any and all unattended and abandoned buildings again. They might have been moving around and set up shop where we've already searched. Do it quietly this time, we may catch them or at least some," Benson answered.

"I'll get some volunteers here to go over where we've been already," Fin said.

_(Plainsboro Suburbs, a few hours later)_

_Fin is leading a group of cops with Carisi through a search of abandoned sites they had searched the past couple of days. They are in civilian clothing covering police issued bulletproof vests. _

"We've been going through several buildings and haven't found anything," one cop said.

"You heard the Lieutenant, we keep searching," Fin said.

_They approached an abandoned factory quietly. There weren't any lights on, but the heard some noise. Fin motioned for the group to hurry. They moved quietly into the building and saw several men in the building._

"POLICE! Hands in the air!" Fin shouted as he rushed in, his gun up.

_The men yelled and fumbled around. The cops surged forward, guns up and screaming for them to get on the ground. The men hurried onto their knees and their hands on their heads._

"Where is he?!" Fin shouted.

"W-What?" One man asked.

"Where's Rob Miller?!" Fin shouted.

"W-Who?" The same man gasped.

_Fin looked around and didn't see anything, but something felt odd to him._

"Carisi, you're with me. The rest of you watch these guys," Fin ordered.

_Fin and Carisi moved throughout the building. They didn't see anything, and they stopped in a room._

"Damn it!" Carisi cursed.

"Something's not adding up," Fin said.

_Carisi looked around, unsure. Fin walked around and something caught his attention._

"You smell that?" Fin asked.

_Carisi walked to stand beside Fin. He took a whiff of the air._

"Yeah, fresh paint," Carisi said.

"That's odd isn't?" Fin asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, like someone's trying to hide someone," Carisi answered.

"Hey! Get a forensics team here with paint remover! And get Lieutenant Benson and Detective Rollins to come down here as well!" Fin ordered.

_After several minutes the Benson, Rollins, and a forensics team arrive._

"What have you found?" Benson asked.

"We smelled something fishy in here. Gotta wait for the boys over there to finish," Fin answered.

"What're you thinking?" Rollins asked.

"I'm thinking someone wanted to hide something in plain sight, but did it too late," Fin answered.

"And that's good for us," Benson said.

_After several minutes go by at which the unit has discussed possible plans they're interrupted._

"Hey! We've got the paint off! You might want to see this!" One of the forensics team called out.

_The group nodded and walked back into the room. They see a plain wall…well…it would be a plain wall if it wasn't for all the names listed on it with some of them having circles around them._

"These are all the names of women…some of them we know…including the ones at the hospital," Benson said.

"Those bastards. They're the ones in the hospital, the names with the circles," Fin hissed.

"This is just creepy," Rollins said.

"Tell me about it," Carisi replied.

_After getting several photos of the list of names the police started to pack up._

"I want all those women identified: histories, homes, places of work, family, friends, all of it. I want them kept an eye on and guarded. It needs to be discreet, make sure they're not being stalked," Benson said to a cop as they stand outside the room.

"These sick freaks, they're targeting all these women…damn that's a lot of names," Fin said.

"We gotta find these guys," Carisi said.

_As everyone prepares to leave, one of the cops approaches the wall with the list of names._

"What is it?" Fin asked.

"I don't know, something's off about this…well…more off," the cop said.

_Fin walked towards the list of names. He scratched his chin. He carefully gazes at the wall. He eyes something that just catches his gaze. He walks over to the wall and moves his hands to part of the wall with a dark lining shadowing part of it. He feels a small opening behind that part of the wall._

"Got something," Fin said.

_He started to move the part of the wall and pulled it away then put it on the ground. As the rest of the unit walked over to join their friend. Before they reached him, Fin turned back to the wall and his eyes locked onto something._

"Ah hell," Fin hissed.

_Before the rest of the unit could respond, they discovered why he said what he said: pictures of them with markings of gun scopes and hateful messages surrounding them._

"These sick freaks," Fin snarled.

"Great, it seems that Alex and the others being attacked was only part of the matter," Benson said.

"Yeah…that's an understatement," Carisi added.

"Well, I say bring it on," Rollins scoffed.

"Something tells me they will," Benson grumbled.

**To be continued…**

_**(Sorry for the late update.)**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**(Next update's up. Oh, and if anyone's reading this, I will actually go back to doing my other stories alongside this one. Along with another I've had in mind for a little while. Or maybe make that two.)**_

**Chapter 10: Slight Understanding(s)**

_(Plainsboro Precinct, the next day)_

_The team stood looking at a board covered with photos of what they'd discovered in the abandoned building. They all had various expressions about what they were seeing. Not only were their faces on the photos, but so were Barba's, Stabler's, Novak's, Peter's, etc. The unit were furious, horrified, and terrified. They were afraid of what these men would do, what actions they would take to go after their friends and allies. And they were outraged that these men would dare to mark these people for harm as well._

"These sick freaks, I'm gonna wring their damn necks," Fin snarled.

"If only," Benson sighed.

"We need to call the others, all of 'em. Let 'em know what these bastards are doing," Fin said.

"Right. Amanda –" Benson started to say.

"Way ahead of you," Amanda said as she got her phone and headed to call from somewhere more private.

"Where are we with interrogations?" Benson asked.

"Not far, we can't tell if they're homeless or targets disguised as homeless," Carisi answered.

"Great, have some of the locals join you. They should know them better," Benson said.

"Want me to take a crack at 'em?" Fin asked.

"No, you need to head to the hospital and let Cabot and the others what we've found," Benson asked.

"What about the hospital staff? It might be safer for them to have another line of defense, or at least for the staff around them to have a better awareness?" Fin asked.

"*Sighs* Ok…but if that prick with the cane starts anything –" Benson started to say.

"I'll shove that cane down his throat," Fin said.

_Benson sighed and couldn't help but chuckle._

_(Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, Cuddy's office, several minutes later)_

_Cuddy is writing something down. House and Wilson are sitting in front of her._

"So are you gonna –" House started to say.

"Shut up," Cuddy said without looking up.

"Pardon?" House sarcastically asked.

"I got a call from one of the detectives from New York, he's coming to inform us of an update in their investigation. I want you to be on your best behavior House," Cuddy replied.

"Do you want me to roll over?" House said.

"What I want is to shove a bone down your throat so that you can be less of an ass," Cuddy replied.

"Do I get a reward if I'm nice?" House chuckled.

"Yeah: I don't put my shoe somewhere it shouldn't go," Cuddy replied.

"Ooh, keep talking dirty to me," House said.

"House," Wilson hissed.

_There was a knocking at the office door._

"There he is. House say something wrong and I'll let him shoot you," Cuddy added.

"Yes ma'am!" House mock saluted.

"Come in! The door's unlocked," Cuddy called out.

_Fin entered the office. He gave a steely eyed looked at House, who just looked back at him with a seemingly unreadable expression. He turned to Cuddy._

"We haven't caught the bastards yet, but we've learned they're targeting several people. Mostly women, but there were…a few…targets that seem to be some of their main targets," Fin replied.

"Let me guess: your team," House said.

_Fin couldn't help but turn to him in a bit of surprise._

"How do you know that?" Fin grunted.

"Your eyes, voice, and body language: you're angry and afraid. Something must've pissed you off, something very personal. Given that you have history with your fugitives, it wasn't all that hard to figure it out," House replied.

"Well aren't you a clever bastard," Fin said.

"Goes with the job description," House said.

"Kicking the crap out of a smartass is in mine," Fin replied.

"Alright, that's enough you two. If we're going to help people, we can't be at each other's throats, your team is a target and this hospital is a target. We can't keep behaving like this," Wilson said.

_Fin turned to him with a look of annoyance, but also surprise. Wilson looked back at him at him with a look of worry, somewhat for himself but mostly for something/someone else. Fin nodded._

"I think I like this guy," Fin said, nodding his head in Wilson's direction.

"Go ahead and sigh in relief. We know you were about to fill your pants," House teased.

"Shut up," Wilson sighed.

"Alright, enough. I'll have security work around the clock, keep things tight. Some of the security guards have asked in the past few months if they could start using dogs. Given the situation –" Cuddy sighed.

"That would help," Fin replied.

"I'll give them a call," Cuddy said.

_She picked up her office phone and started dialing. Fin turns to leave._

"So, Sergeant, how's your day been? Have a nice coffee? Perhaps a scrumptious donut?" House said.

"No, but I'm thinking about grabbing that cane of yours and shoving it where the sun doesn't shine," Fin said as he turned to glare at the man.

"Ooh, scary," House said.

"What's your game man? Like to play with people? Get your kicks being a dick?" Fin asked.

"Well, it depends on who you ask. A lot of people say I'm quite charming," House replied.

_Fin grumbled under his breath._

"What happened to you?" Fin asked.

"Huh?" House groaned.

"What made you such a cynical bastard? Were you abused? Your father?" Fin asked.

_House was taken aback for a moment, memories of his complicated past. Before he could say anything, Fin nodded._

"Thought so," Fin said then started to walk away.

"Hey! Hey!" House hissed as he followed Fin.

_House put his cane between Fin and the door Fin was about to open to walk through._

"Don't think you can just psychoanalyze me and walk away," House said.

"It's my job to study people, same as yours," Fin replied.

"And you, you're a former soldier. Came from a rough background, probably raised by one of your grandparents, probably from the loss of a parent. This caused grief and anger, probably got into a lot of fights to feel something," House said.

_It was Fin's turn to stop talking._

"As you said, 'it's my job to study people'," House said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Fin grumbled.

_Fin took a step forward._

"But don't push your luck when it comes to this asshole. We're after some dangerous men who aren't afraid about hurting innocent people. This situation is one of the most dangerous my squad's ever been in. And it doesn't need to be messed up by some guy with his cane up his ass," Fin said.

"Sure thing, 'boss man'. I'll just stay here trying to save lives," House said as he started walking away.

"Ass," Fin grumbled then walked off.

_Fin continued his way towards the exit where he came across Doctor Foreman._

"I know that look. What did House say?" Foreman asked.

"Nothing that you probably can't imagine," Fin replied.

"I know, the man knows how to get under people's skin. He's just that kinda man," Foreman said.

"How do you deal with him? I know what I feel like doing to him," Fin said.

"House is a…complicated man. Is he a jerk? Yes. I fear like I will end up like him some day…I dread it. But sometimes the man has saved lives…by the means of which he does so is up for debate obviously, but sometimes I wonder how many people would be dead if it weren't for him," Foreman replied.

"So, he's got a god complex?" Fin scoffed.

"Not sure he'd call it that, since he doesn't believe in any religion or divine possibility. But yes, he's an arrogant bastard, but that's in part from his brilliance…but also the constant pain he lives with," Foreman replied.

"Hmm, well I could help him with that pain," Fin said.

"You willing to cut off his bad leg?" Foreman asked.

_Fin gave him a bit of a shocked look._

"He…was hurt a while back and the option to remove his leg was the advised tactic, but he refused. So, there was a compromise: remove most of the damaged tissue and reduce the pain. He wasn't happy about that, but he kept his leg. So, the part of the reason he's such an ass is because of his pain, but that doesn't mean we let him get by with it…not all the time," Foreman elaborated.

_Fin sighed then nodded._

"Make sure you keep an eye on him during this, brother," Fin said.

"You got it," Foreman said.

_Fin started to head towards the exit._

"Hey, so how are the ladies doing? And…the kid…the hacker…how's he doing?" Fin asked.

"They're good. We've got our security round the clock here. As for William, he's still in pain but stable. You guys need to ask him something?" Foreman answered.

"My captain doesn't want him involved, just behind a cell when this is done," Fin replied.

"Let's hope we can find out what's wrong with him than," Foreman said.

"You still don't know?" Fin asked.

"We've got some tests and theories going on. We've had similar symptoms before. Patients have survived," Foreman said and then started to walk away.

"Any who didn't?" Fin asked.

"…Some," Foreman answered.

**To be continued…**

_**(Sorry for the late update.)**_


End file.
